WHEELING – West Virginians may go to the polls starting Wednesday as early voting in the 2026 primary election begins Wednesday across the state.

And this year there are even more registered Republicans across the state following action by the WVGOP earlier this year to halt the practice of allowing Independent voters to request and cast a Republican ballot. GOP registrations have risen since the start of the year while Democratic and non-party affiliations have decreased, but the changes aren’t major in scale.

Early voting in West Virginia begins Wednesday and is set to take place at local courthouses from April 29 through May 9. Early polls will be open during regular business hours on weekdays during that time, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 2, and Saturday, May 9. Voting does not take place on Sundays in West Virginia.

The deadline has passed to register to vote or update registrations in the Mountain State, but the latest numbers show Republicans were successful both in the Northern Panhandle and across the state at adding voters to their rolls.

Voter registration totals compiled by the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office indicated there were 1,198,492 registered voters in the state as of Dec. 31, 2025. An April 21 report now shows that figure down only slightly to 1,198,019.

Republican registrations in West Virginia were 508,956 at the end of December, and have now climbed to 519,756.

Among Democrats, there has been a drop in registrations. There were 332,111 Democrats on the state’s roll at the start of the year, and that number is now at 327,089.

The Republicans had hoped to attract more Independent voters into joining the party by banning them from voting the GOP ballot while still unaffiliated.

Those voters registered as having no party were at 305,183 in December, and are now at 301,933.

– Ohio County: The number of Republicans in Ohio County was 10,811 at the start of 2026, and that has now increased to 10,921. Democratic registrations dipped from 8,506 to 8,405, while non-affiliated voters decreased only slightly from 6,257 to 6,247.

– Marshall County: The county had 8,644 Republican voters at the start of 2026, and that number is now at 8,924. Democratic registrations dropped from 5,544 to 5,455. Non-party voters declined in number from 4,937 to 4,768.

– Brooke County: The number of registered Democrats in the county dropped from 4,996 to 4,916 during the first four months of 2026. Republican registrations, meanwhile, jumped from 6,016 in December to 6,159 in April. Non-affiliated voters dropped from 3.483 to 3.429.

– Hancock County: Democratic registrations dropped in number from 5,582 at the end of 2025 to 5,455 in April, while GOP numbers jumped from 8,301 to 8,478. Those with no party registration decreased from 4,285 in December to 4,144 in the past four months.

– Tyler County: Democrats in Tyler County dropped in number from 1,001 to 968 since the beginning of the year, while Republicans held steady at 3,236. Those with no party affiliation fell from 1,280 to 1,237.

– Wetzel County: Republicans picked up some voters over the past four months in Wetzel County, rising in number from 4,009 to 4,083. Democrats decreased from 3,265 to 3,181 over the same time period. Non-party affiliations also saw a small increase in numbers, rising from 1,933 at the end of December to 1,954 in April.